


Strong for Us

by HayaMika



Category: Trollhunters (Cartoon)
Genre: Also Full of Fluff, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Panic Attacks, Please Don't Read if You Haven't Seen ALL of Season 3, Short One Shot, major spoilers for season 3, post-season 3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-26
Updated: 2018-05-26
Packaged: 2019-05-13 22:28:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14757471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HayaMika/pseuds/HayaMika
Summary: Everything finally catches up to Jim all at once and he's struggling to control himself...(POST-SEASON 3. MAJOR SPOILER ALERT!!!)





	Strong for Us

**Author's Note:**

> This will probably be my only Trollhunters fanfiction... I needed to write this after I finished watching the finale for Season 3. Please ignore any grammatical errors or story issues. I literally wrote this in 30 minutes right before going to bed. 
> 
> This is your last warning: This story has MAJOR SPOILERS for Season 3, so if you aren't a fan of spoilers, please turn back now!

Their trip to the “Magical Land of New Jersey” was taking a whole lot more time than Jim could have anticipated. They were taking frequent breaks for Claire, not like he could complain cause he really wanted em as well.    
  
For a large portion of this trip, Merlin and Blinky let Jim and Claire to their own when breaktimes would come. Usually Claire would use their larger, daytime break to sleep. Jim would sit with her sometimes, her head snuggled into his side when the two of them would really want to be close. Though, more often than not, the two would just be in a close vicinity to one another. Jim’s armor was quite uncomfortable to sleep on and Claire couldn’t sleep in hers, so she’d strip off her outer layers to get some decent sleep.   
  
Right now, though, he was glad Claire chose to sleep separate from him.   
  
Jim was fairly content with his… current existence, at least that’s what he thought before. But today proved otherwise.   
  
Jim was resting his eyes and letting his brain wander quietly when the sinking feeling hit. All of what happened the past few weeks hit him like a ton of bricks. From his changes, to the battles and then having to leave the only home he ever knew… along with his mom? Why did it hurt so bad all of a sudden?   
  
He grimaced, closing his eyes tighter in an attempt to drown out the sickening feeling in his gut. He wishes this was just some kind of bad indigestion from his new troll-like diet but he knew that was wishful thinking on his part.    
  
Eventually, the heightened sensitivities to all the noises around him, the heavy breathing, the sensation that he was completely immobile and lost in space… It all hit him so fast he could barely prepare himself for the sob that forced its way out of his throat.   
  
He put a hand over his mouth, trying to hush himself to avoid waking Claire. Claire… The girl who also left everyone else behind to be with him. God he felt so selfish… He left his mom and best friend behind… His girlfriend left her whole life behind just to be with him and follow in whatever the hell he was doing. Why did this all hurt so much?   
  
His whole body shuddered, still feeling so drowned and trapped. Why were the walls getting so close? Why couldn’t he move? The only sensations he could feel were his trembling hands and the wetness that dripped from his eyes.   
  
Oh god, no not now.   
  
Another sob ripped through his throat as he tried to calm the heaviness in his chest. His vision was beginning to grow dark from his intense breathing.   
  
“J-Jim?” He heard a voice.   
  
“Jim, whats going on?” It was Claire.   
  
_ “No no no why did you have to wake her up” _ Jim’s internal voice said in a panic.   
  
He could just barely make out Claire’s outline through his tears, but the second she put her hands on him it was the only thing keeping him from outright losing it. He couldn’t feel anything but the way that Claire’s hands gripped his larger ones, the way her hand brushed through his hair and over his wet cheeks. He took in every moment to try and ground himself so he didn’t lose control.   
  
“Jim… Jim breath. Here… In for 5, out for 7… you’ve got this…” Claire guided him through some breathing exercises, ones that he also remember learning during this seminar for mental and emotional issues that his school did every year.   
  
Claire placed a hand on his chest, right over where his heart should be, trying to help pace his breathing by feeling for it herself. He followed along with the exercises the best he could, a few hiccups causing breaks in his breathing.   
  
After several minutes of Claire taking him through various calm-down techniques, Jim was able to stable himself enough to feel less trapped, small and scared.   
  
Now, Jim had himself wrapped around Claire, shuddering lightly as he continues sobbing into her shoulder. Claire was wrapped around him the best she could as well, rubbing small circles along his back and pressing small kisses to his neck.   
  
“W-Why…” Jim asked, not really sure how he wanted to finish his question.   
  
“Why what?” Claire asked, face still pressed into his neck.   
  
“Why… w-why does this h-hurt so bad…?” Jim pushed his face down into Claire's shoulder again in an attempt to his his tears.   
  
“Because…” Claire was afraid of saying the wrong thing… She’s usually very good with words but how are you supposed to comfort someone when that person has been through the odd experiences Jim has been through?   
  
“Because what you’ve been through is… out of the ordinary.” Claire continued, it’s not everyday a human-born boy is changed into a hybrid of sorts, forced to battle against a legendary evil and then leave their hometown behind to find refuge and safety for a race that’s not even their own…” Claire finished. Jim just shuddered silently.   
  
“You’ve been through more than anyone else I know… I’m more surprised that you’ve held yourself together this long. If it was anyone else, I know these feelings probably would have broken them by now.” Claire added.   
  
Jim didn’t respond, he just stared into the opposite wall of the underground cave they found. His eyes were half-drooped, puffy and tired from the breakdown he just had.   
  
“Its ok to have a moment to lose yourself, Jim” Claire pushed Jim back a bit, bringing his face into view. She grabbed his chin and lifted it up a bit so she could see it better. He looked miserable.    
  
“You’re not weak for expressing these feelings. You don’t need to stay strong for us.”   
  
_ “It’s true” _ , Jim thought, that he’s been holding most of his feelings back about the situation because he was so preoccupied with trying to keep everyone safe. So it’s no wonder, long after everything was over and his brain could finally relax, that all these emotions bubbled to the surface.   
  
“I-I’m sorry for waking you u-up… especially to all of this” Jim whispered quietly, his voice hoarse. He brought a hand to Claire’s face, rubbing his thumb along her soft skin.   
  
“Don’t you dare be sorry, Jim. You’ve been through so much… I’m surprised you made it this far…” Claire responded, leaning softly into Jim’s touch. Jim smiled a bit.   
  
“I love you… so much…” Jim said, pulling Claire into a short embrace. Claire pushed her face into his neck.   
  
“I love you, too, Jim…” She said softly, pressing one more kiss into his neck.   
  
Exhausted from his whole ordeal, Jim began to nod off, hopefully with some happier thoughts. Claire shifted herself a bit, trying to make herself comfortable against Jim’s armor. She struggled a bit but refused to try to seperate from their embrace. Jim needed this and God knows she didn’t wanna take this from him. Once situated, she found herself also drifting off, following Jim into the calming embrace of sleep, snuggled into the arms of her troll-human hybrid boyfriend. ★


End file.
